Thursday, December 15, 2011

On Monday of last week I posted that I was not going to do any more stitching until I completed the finishing necessary on 13 other projects, some of which I recently stitched & some of which I found from one of my two previous stitching lives. I spent the entire week working on this finishing & am proud to say that I did complete 7 of those 13 projects! You may be asking yourself what happened with the other 5. I decided there wasn't really any rush to finish those so hooray, no more pressure there : )

I cannot, for a variety of reasons, share 6 of those finishes with you just yet. However, I am going to share this one ...

As you can see, I finished stitching this little sampler back in January 1987 which was during my first cross stitching life. I was so overjoyed to find that box a while back & discover that I actually did save some of my old projects! Just think ... this little sampler has been waiting just 1 month shy of 25 years to be finished! Amazing ... lol! Basically I'm happy with the way it turned out. I've got that "bowing thing" going on there at the bottom, much as I tried to avoid it, but I am thankful I didn't totally ruin it : ) I have no idea where this pattern came from or who the designer was but I hope you will cut me a bit of a break on that : )

Since I am now off the hook for a while as far as my finishing goes, I decided to start stitching something new. I began this new project last night & it should, in normal person terms, be a quick stitch. I hope that will be the case for me as well : )

Christmas preparations are a bit more in the forefront for me right now. I've done pretty much all the decorating I'm going to do. The house could use a good dusting which it will get before the big day. Yesterday I spent time jotting down a grocery list. Food is going to be beyond simple this year. We had so much turkey at Thanksgiving that I ended up freezing a bunch of it so there really isn't any need to make another one. I usually cook a small ham. I don't know if I will do that this year or not. No baking this year except for some gumdrop bread which holds many good memories for us. I will bake a few small loves. We will keep one & the remainder will go to the people who work in the post office. There will also be the traditional potato salad to enjoy & the traditional orange rolls on Christmas morning. That's it really. I'm looking forward to it : )

Congratulations on getting so many finishes off your list....I'm proud of you Girl!! And your little sampler is adorable....Unfortunately, when I find my UFO's from previous lives, I usually find that my sense of taste has changed and no longer can bring myself to finish it. Sigh. ;o) Hope the day is going well for you. Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

Way to go Shirlee! Love that you took the pressure off from yourself. Love the finished piece that you shared with us.I so wish I knew how to cross stitch.I need to figure out our meal plan as well.Things have been simplified here too.I find that I am enjoying the holiday more for that very reason.Christmas Blessings,Jen

Love your sampler Shirlee!I'm working on some stitcheries right now. Last minute gifts.I'm not baking any cookies this year ~ just don't have the drive!Can't wait to see the other little projects you've finished up!Prim BlessingsRobin

Shirlee, love the sampler you finished. You are a pro at CCS. I am envious.(in a good way) I have a stamped sampler I did too many years ago and have never framed it. I look at it every now and then but it takes a frame that is not a standard size. So needless to say, I pack it back again. Gumdrop Bread? Sounds interesting. Never heard of it. Hoping you have a great weekendAngela

I too had one of those projects that took 20+ years to "finish" and that I needed to do was to bring it to the framer!Your little sampler is wonderful. I have been trying to get to my sewing room to do some much needed finishing but have failed miserably, maybe tomorrow.

What is Gumdrop bread? I have never heard of that but it does sound delicious, especially if there are gumdrops in it, yum!

How sweet you found such an old stitched piece waiting to be finished, and even better its one you still like enough to go to the effort of finishing it. I remember some of my projects from previous stitching lives, and they belong in the trash bin.